May 17, 2018, St. James/Smithtown, NY -- The Atelier at Flowerfield proudly presents Atelier Masterworks 2018, an annual group show held at Atelier Hall, the school’s exhibition space designed to complement their traditional fine-art training. This exhibition features work from nine local and visiting instructors, with a focus on introducing upcoming Atelier at Flowerfield workshop teachers and nationally recognized painters Leo Mancini-Hresko, David Shevlino, and John C. Traynor to the greater St. James and Stony Brook communities. The exhibition also features the work of Atelier at Flowerfield’s year-round professional instructors Kevin McEvoy (director), Lana Ballot, Leeanna Chipana, Bill Graf, Tyler Hughes, and Wendy Jensen.

Atelier Masterworks 2018 comprises 34 works: still lifes, landscapes, interiors, figures, and portraits painted predominantly in oil (works in graphite and pastel are also included) and ranging in size from 9 x 11 inches to 48 x 60 inches. The paintings as a whole embody the educational focus of The Atelier and McEvoy’s mission to teach classical fundamentals of drawing and painting from life as a foundation for individual expression in a contemporary context.

Leo Mancini Hresko — a graduate and former principal instructor of The Florence Academy of Art, who now runs his own studio in Waltham, Massachusetts — has ten works in the Atelier Masterworks 2018 exhibition. Known for his knowledge of Old Master methods and materials,

Leo Mancini-Hresko: Summer Light Studio Hallway

Mancini-Hresko applies those principles to impressionistic and expressionistic portrayals of his surrounding world: predominantly on-site landscapes from New England and his travels abroad (a large-scale view of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence is featured in this exhibition, as is the artist’s paintings from Greece and Maine), but also sensitively observed interiors, light-filled still lifes, and the occasional figure or portrait. Mancini-Hresko has been included in group exhibitions throughout the world, including in Italy, Greece, Ireland, England, and Russia. He has taught his approach to hand-crafting his own oils, canvases, and mediums at various schools and institutions, including at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and he continues to be a part of an ongoing cultural exchange between Russian and American painters.

David Shevlino: Red Jacket

David Shevlino received his training at the historic Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and also studied at University of Pennsylvania and the Art Students League of New York. A firm believer in a traditional fine-art foundation, Shevlino has also developed an appreciation for more expressive styles and experimentation. His artwork lives in that energetic tension between representation and abstraction, a place where the artist feels most comfortable and confident. Shevlino has six works in this exhibition, showcasing the various sides of his stylistic personality. These include a large-scale American Impressionist-esque outdoor portrait of a young boy; a semi-nude figure demonstrating his signature hybrid style; and a simple still life, painted with a limited palette a la the Hawthorne/Hensche school of color. Shevlino has been exhibiting his paintings nationally and internationally for more than two decades, and his work has been featured in several national and online publications.

John Traynor: Sunday Evening Stories

John C. Traynor has been painting and traveling the world in search of beauty for more than 40 years and is known for his landscapes and still lifes that combine traditional realism with atmospheric impressionism. Having trained with such important teachers as Deanne Keller and Frank Mason in his youth, Traynor is part of several important lineages, including those associated with the Copley Society of Boston, of which he is a honorary member. The artist has five works in this exhibition, including his highly collected outdoor landscape scenes, as well as a rare multi-figure interior titled Sunday Evening Stories. Traynor is the official fine artist of the upcoming 2018 U.S. Open Men’s Golf Championship, held this June at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, in Eastern Long Island. Traynor has been making several trips to the area over the last several months to paint on-site, and has been particularly inspired by the legacy of William Merrit Chase, who summered and painted in Shinnecock and ran the Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art from 1891-1902.

The Atelier at Flowerfield, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax exempt not-for -profit organization located in historic Smithtown, was founded in May of 2016 by Long Island painter Kevin McEvoy in partnership with trustees Paul Lamb, Stephen Vlay, Barbara Beltrami, and David Madigan. McEvoy — who studied in Florence, Italy at Charles Cecil Studio — wanted to bring the principles of classical education into a curriculum that encouraged a contemporary worldview and evolving artistic expression. The school offers studio classes to students of all ages and ability levels, taught by professional artists from the Long Island area.

The Atelier at Flowerfield also offers professional workshops by international instructors, and presents exhibitions by both local and visiting artists at its exhibition space, Atelier Hall. Other educational offerings include free lectures led by McEvoy and guest speakers, a full-time apprenticeship program for aspiring professional artists, scholarships to needy students, musical performances and collaborations, drawing sessions at the Art of Jazz Nights at the Jazz Loft of Stony Brook, and other partnerships, all of which further the school’s mission to be a crossroads of art and community.

THE FLOWERFIELD CAMPUS: AN EMERGING ARTS COMPLEX

Compared to the bucolic neighboring town of Stony Brook, the location of The Atelier at Flowerfield in the Flowerfield Campus of Gyrodyne, LLC in St. James is a decidedly grittier, more industrial setting. Located in a former helicopter factory, the Flowerfield campus has been slowly transitioning into an arts complex over the last few years. The arrival of The Atelier at Flowerfield and Atelier Hall two years ago has been complemented by other craftsmen and creative neighbors, including a mosaic-tile company, pottery studio, dance studio, and a high-end carpentry and cabinet business. With plans for additional artisan and artist studios in the works, the Flowerfield Campus is beginning to see the type of urban revitalization that industrial sities in the Greater New York City area have been experiencing over the last decade, as they convert from functional, factory-type settings into affordable, accessible communities for artists of all types.